Mermaid
by Don Amoeba
Summary: Sakusasunaru. Sakura chooses to sacrifice herself for her loved ones. Can be disturbing to some viewers.


I've edited the explicit scene, but if this is still too graphic to be on ffnet let me know. I will pull it down.  
Also, I'd like to thank paxnirvana for being my beta.

x-posted in Freedom of Speech and Naruto 500 LJ.

* * *

It was three years after his disappearance that Sasuke was found cast off, blind, and dying. 

It was said that the leader of the Sound had finally fulfilled his dream to play God; years of pain and agony, trapped within stolen imperfections, were over. Team Seven's mission was to investigate the report's validity, when a source revealed the whereabouts of Orochimaru's lair. But when they reached it, it was empty.

Nevertheless, the evidence of Orochimaru's brutal research still remained, and the scattered mounds of broken bones and flesh that were once humans was enough to make even the strongest ninja's stomach churn.

Naruto was the first to react to this vision of hell. He gave a cry and jumped into the nearest rotting mass, frantically digging through with his bare hands, perhaps in hopes of finding a familiar hand or severed head that belonged to his best friend. In the end, Kakashi had to use brute force and knocked him out cold, to save the boy from choking to death from the toxic stench.

A faint rustle from a back corner was all it took for the team to jolt in alarm. Kakashi handed Naruto to Sakura and motioned her to stay put as he moved towards the source of the sound. He disappeared into the dark for some time, before the elite jonin scrambled back out again, a ghostly paleness haunting his face. Even he, a man who had seen many wars and deaths, looked as if he were about to throw up.

Sakura swallowed hard and willed her legs to move. She walked over to the corner and discovered the remnants of the boy she once knew. A pitiful figure leaning against a pile of maggot infested pile of carcasses, twitching uncontrollably and occasionally mumbling to himself. In his hand he held a half chewed face. The boy sensed Sakura's presence and raised his head, and Sakura came face to face with two red swollen hollows staring back at her. She shrieked.

Orochimaru had perfected the art of body stealing to the extreme. He could now freely consume his victims' organs and use them as his own. Once the boy's most worthy possession had been taken away, there had been no use for him anymore. He had been left behind, surviving on whatever he could lay his hands on since.

They brought Sasuke back to the village. As the last Uchiha in Konoha, his bloodline was greatly valued by the authorities. But his eyes were already stolen, and the prospect of him regaining his life as a ninja was zero. It was his future offspring the village was interested in. A surgery to preserve his genes was going to take place soon.

The news was too much for the hot-headed Naruto to handle. His kyuubi seal broke loose and the town was stunned as they recognized the fiendish chakra. Sakura watched the boy's tear-streaked face, his small body contorting under the power of the beast, and suddenly it dawned on her why only Sasuke could bring Naruto to release his demon, and why Sasuke was the only one who could save Naruto.

She ran to Naruto and held his face in her hands. Naruto looked up and saw the sweet, reassuring smile from his comrade. She held him and promised him that everything would be okay, that Sasuke would live.

Gradually, Naruto slipped back into control and the deadly chakra died down. They were safe, for now.

Sakura knew then what she had to do. She couldn't afford to lose two of her loved ones at once.

That night, she went to the council and made a proposal. I promise you will get the bloodline you want, but in exchange, let Sasuke-kun live, she told them. Give him a pair of eyes from a captive. Erase his memory so he can live normally. I will go to Sasuke-kun's room now, just promise me you will let him live!

Sasuke was naked on the hospital bed, and remained lifeless even when Sakura walked in. Sakura knelt down next to the body and whispered an apology into his ear. She hated herself for her incompetence, for not having a better way to help. She wanted to whisper her love too, but she knew it wouldn't reach his ears.

So instead, she told her own love story with her hands, herlips and her tongue. When Sasuke was hard enough, Sakuramounted herself across Sasuke's body. Her blood trickled down from where they were joined and stained the white hospital sheets.

The night looked on as the ritual continued, asSakura rocked her body while Sasuke lay in silence, his hollowed-out sockets staring at the ceiling. At last, his body gave a quick jerk and Sakura felt a warmth spreading inside her. She rolled her body off the bed carefully, so not to spill the precious gift that would become her last link to the boy she loved.

Before she fixed her clothes and left the room, Sakura gave Sasuke one last look, and kissed the boy with her first kiss. It tasted of blood.

Weeks later, on Sakura's birthday, her friends took her out to shop for presents. She was wavering between a pink kimono or new set of kunai when she heard familiar voices outside. It was Sasuke and Naruto. Sasuke had fully recovered and was a new man. His warm green eyes fixed always on his companion, who looked and smiled back shyly every now and then. They soon disappeared into the crowded streets. Sakura went home later that night and cried.

In time, a healthy boy was born. An ANBU squad came to Sakura's house and took him away. That was the last Sakura saw of him.

Today Sakura turned 35. She still hasn't told anyone.

--end--


End file.
